breaking news. a monster earthquake rocks japan overnight, touching off a massive tsunami that wiped out vast areas. tsunami warnings have been issued for most of the pacific, including hawaii. the earthquake triggered fires that are burning out of control along japan's east coast. transportation is disrupted, and emergency crews are being mobilized as officials only emergency crews are being mobilized as officials only begin to count the casualties. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everybody. and thanks for joining us, i'm betty nguyen. a monster earthquake struck japan this morning, triggering a

devastating tsunami that swamped a wide patch of the japanese coastline, causing widespread damage, and some major damage, as well. the 8.9 magnitude quake was centered off the northeast japan coastline, about 240 miles northeast of tokyo. it is the biggest quake to hit japan in 140 years. the pictures, they are stunning. take a look. you can see the fires that are still burning at this hour. also, a 13-foot tsunami wave rolled inland, sweeping away everything in its path. including homes and cars. a tsunami watch has been issued for the entire western coast of the united states, in fact. there are initial reports of at least five deaths, and unknown numbers of injured, and reports of many still missing at this hour. fires caused by the quake raged up and down the coast. there are reports of widespread power outages, and transportation disruptions, as well.

we will continue to follow this story for you, so stay with us for that. there's a lot more to tell you about, because as we said, tsunami warnings and watches are in effect for the entire pacific region, including the entire west coast of the united states and canada. warnings have now been issued for hawaii for tsunami sirens are sounding, and evacuations have begun. evacuations have been ordered in the philippines, as well. tsunami warnings also issued in russia, new guinea, new zealand, australia, guam, and most of the pacific, including the pacific coast of south america. of course, we are continuing to monitor these developments. we will have much more on the tsunami just a little bit later in the broadcast. take you back to this country now because a powerful rainstorm has triggered another round of flooding along the east coast. the slow-moving storm is dumping three inches of rain in some areas. 12 states are under a flood watch. terrell brown is in hard-hit wayne, new jersey, with more. he joins us now live. good morning, terrell. >> betty, good morning to you. you're right.

when you have rains like this, these rivers flooding their banks is a major concern. that is what's happened. the rivers just can't take this much water. believe it or not we're standing in the middle of a street of a neighborhood here in the northern part of new jersey. this water already up to my knees, just about. forecasters say the water is still rising, and the worst may be yet to come. floodwaters are creeping higher in parts of the northeast this morning. >> we expect it to come in the house. >> reporter: overnight, heavy rain pelted the region, leaving it water logged for the second time in less than a week. in lincoln park, new jersey, nancy and andy monaco stacked their possessions high, hoping to keep them dry. >> i'm expecting it to come in and really big. >> reporter: the national guard is also ready to step in if the situation gets worse. >> we will be helping tow the boats and just recovering people. >> reporter: here in northern new jersey, some residents can expect at least three inches of rain, if not more. the water in this neighborhood alone, already up to my knee. and some forecasters expect

major flooding into the weekend. across the northeast, and parts of the mid-atlantic, several rivers have already jumped their banks. >> you've got the snow melt that we would normally see. but we've got a tremendous amount of it, so any rainfall we get is going to cause problems. >> reporter: the ohio river is expected to crest four feet above flood stage today. the susquehanna which borders new york and pennsylvania could top out at nine feet by the weekend. but this nasty system isn't just dumping rain. >> i'm a bus driver so i've got to be ready for it. >> reporter: crews in parts of ohio are preparing for several inches of snow. and pennsylvania, residents could get a dose of both. forecasters are calling for extreme conditions with heavy snow near pittsburgh, and flash flooding near philadelphia. when the rain stops, the water continues to rise. of course, officials will be watching where these rivers crest. and of course, that means as we head into the weekend, places that aren't seeing flooding right now could see it by then. betty, we'll send it back to you. >> it could be a long weekend.

terrell brown in wayne, new jersey. thank you for that live report. the governor of wisconsin is set to sign into law a bill that strips most state employees of collective bargaining rights. the bill was passed by the state legislature following weeks of contentious debate and protest. manuel gallegus reports. >> reporter: police carried out the last few die-hard protesters from the wisconsin state house thursday night, just a few hours after the state assembly voted to take away collective bargaining rights for most state workers. >> it's going to affect my income. you know. i'm considered a nonessential personnel, so therefore, will i have a job? >> reporter: earlier, the standoff turned into a shoving match, as demonstrators blocked the capitol's entrances and hallways. some had to be dragged away, as they tried to disrupt the final vote by the republican-led assembly. in the end, both the senate and the assembly approved a modified version of the bill. taking out much of the budget language, so it could be passed without the presence of the missing senate democrats.

>> the fact of the matter is we live in a democracy, and to participate in a democracy, you got to be in the arena. >> reporter: labor leaders say what's happened in wisconsin has mobilized middle-class americans, and they are planning to mount a counterattack against republicans at the ballot box in 2012. manuel gallegus, cbs news, madison, wisconsin. in libya this morning, it appears forces loyal to moammar gadhafi have recaptured the strategic oil port of ras lanuf from rebels. the advance of anti-gadhafi fighters toward tripoli apparently has stalled. witnesses say hundreds of rebels in cars and trucks fled eastward as libyan military rockets and shells rained down on ras lanuf. in tripoli, gadhafi's son vowed to retake the eastern half of the country, which remains in rebel control. in a statement that embarrassed the white house, the director of national intelligence, james clapper, told congress thursday that he thinks gadhafi's well-equipped military will defeat the rebels. >> from the standpoint of

attrition, that over time, i mean, this is kind of a stalemate back and forth, but i think over the longer-term, that the regime will prevail. >> the white house later distanced itself from clapper's statement, saying the president does not think gadhafi will win. libya will be among the topics president obama will address when he holds a press conference later this morning at the white house. susan mcginnis is in washington with much more on this. susan, what do you expect to hear from the president? >> hi, well, good morning, betty. the president will undoubtedly address the tragedy in japan, and the effect on hawaii, and the western united states this morning. no telling yet just how much that might disrupt his agenda. but, yes, as of now, libya and the increasing turmoil there, is on his agenda to speak this morning at 11:15 eastern time. libya is africa's third biggest oil producer. oil prices have really skyrocketed since the turmoil there happened. and, of course, across the middle east. oil is up to $107 a barrel at

one point this week. also gas prices are on the president's agenda. the impact on u.s. budgets, the burden on u.s. households to pay for gas. we have gasoline at $3.50 a gallon on average in the u.s., nearing $4 in some areas. so this really has brought the president's whole energy policy into the spotlight. republicans calling for more u.s. production, that means drilling. democrats calling for opening up the strategic petroleum reserve to try to bring down prices. as of now, at least, that is on the agenda. betty, the president also could talk about the union battles in wisconsin, and also funding for the government. but again, no telling how much of this tragedy in japan will affect his agenda. >> yeah, a lot of fast-moving developments this morning. susan mcginnis joining us live from washington. thank you, susan. doctors in houston will give an update today on the condition of arizona representative gabrielle giffords. sources say giffords has made great progress since being shot in the head in january. they say doctors -- doctors say they think she may even be able to attend her astronaut husband's space shuttle launch

which is scheduled for next month in florida. just ahead on the "morning news," apple rolls out the new ipad 2 today. plus the latest bizarre twist in the charlie sheen saga as police show up at his house. first, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> rehabilitating the mind, and the body. we'll take you inside congresswoman gabrielle giffords' rehab center. what is recovery like for patients with devastating brain injuries? as dr. sanjay gupta reports, music therapy, even shopping carts, play a big part. so that story and more tonight, only on the "cbs evening news." today we're going to surprise people with the taste of activia. mmm. this is really good. great flavor. it's really creamy. it's really tasty. oh, wow! jamie lee curtis! it's activia!

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today, wall street will try to bounce back. on thursday stocks took a huge hit with all the major indexes down 2% or more. the dow dropped 228 points to close below 12,000. that was the worst day for the blue chips since august. while the nasdaq lost 50. a new warning from dr. doom, nouriel roubini, the economist who correctly predicted the global financial crisis said thursday if oil hits $140 a barrel, the u.s. could slip into a double-dip recession. several analysts predict the price of crude could again reach the record $147 a barrel it set two years ago, if the current turmoil in the middle east and north africa continues. well, here we go again. american airlines kicked off a new round of ticket hikes thursday, raising its fares by $10 per round trip. no other carriers have matched that yet. but, if the increase sticks, it would be the seventh hike this year by u.s. airlines, all blame rising fuel costs. walmart is downsizing. the world's largest retailer

told investors thursday it plans to build hundreds of smaller outlets in coming years. construction on the first so-called express store will begin next week in gentry, arkansas. the smaller stores will be less than one-tenth the size of the average walmart. revenue for the chain is still rising overall, but sales have slowed the past year and a half. and apple fans certainly know what today is. the new ipad 2 hits stores today. the reviews have been fantastic so far. the new tablet is thinner, lighter, and faster than the first ipad. and the best part -- the new one has the same price tag as the old version, starting at $500. according to one analyst, apple could sell as many as 600,000 just this weekend. and betty, who doesn't want to be lighter, thinner and faster? >> i know. we all want that. in life, right? >> right. >> all right. ashley morrison joining us live here in new york. thank you, ashley. los angeles police raided charlie sheen's mansion overnight. police officials say they were looking for guns that might

violate a restraining order obtained last week by sheen's estranged wife. sheen's lawyer says they took away some bullets and what he described as an antique gun. on thursday, sheen filed a $100 million lawsuit seeking to recoup his salary and wages of workers on the cbs sitcom "two and a half men." the filing came four days after sheen was fired as the show's star. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, a dramatic end in the big east tournament, as uconn takes on thursday ranked pittsburgh. ♪ special k protein shakes -- ♪ a truly great-tasting breakfast shake. with 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, it's the creamy, delicious way to satisfy... your hunger to help you lose weight. ♪

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purina cat chow. share a better life. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, more rain, 56 degrees. miami, sunny, 73. chicago, it's going to be sunny but 45 degrees there. dallas, sunny, 76. and l.a., sunny 71. time now for a check of the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows more rain and snow tracking through the northeast, with a slow-moving storm that stretches down past florida. storms in the northwest are breaking down and heading into the northern plains. and skies from the southwest to the southeast are mostly clear. later today, rain will continue in the northeast, causing flooding. a weak system will trek through the northern plains, delivering a wintry mix. the northwest will take a break from the wet weather, and we'll see sun return to the area. and the northeast, well, it will feel cooler than normal. in sports, a big upset in

the big east college basketball tournament. with the game on the line between pittsburgh and uconn, the huskies kimba walker nails the game-winner at the buzzer. number 21 uconn advances, beating third-ranked pittsburgh 76-74. and in the big 12 tournament, a nail-biter for number two seeded kansas. they were up by one when oklahoma state throws up a prayer at the buzzer, but it misses. kansas holds on, beating the cowboys 63-62. in pro ball, the heat showed some fire against l.a. with two minutes left, kobe bryant nails a three-pointer from downtown to tie the game. later, though, dwyane wade strips the ball from kobe and passes it to lebron james for the slam. miami snaps a five-game skid, winning 94-88. and in the nfl, a strike deadline is just hours away. after meeting with the federal mediator on thursday, the nfl general council took a swipe at the players. >> both sides have an equal

commitment to getting this deal done. it will get done. i don't know if both sides have an equal commitment. >> the two sides are still far apart on key economic issues, and have until 5:00 p.m. today to sign a new deal. so far they've already had two extensions. when we return, another look at this morning's top story. the devastating earthquake and tsunami in japan. we will hear from someone at the scene. ["stir it up" playing] stir up a smile with hershey's syrup.

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... beginning at 4:30. th on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. rain is falling in the northeast with a very strong storm raging slowly through the region. the southeast is recovering from heavy rain. and clear skies stretch from the great lakes to the southwest. here is another look at our top story this morning. a powerful earthquake that hit

northeast japan overnight has caused major damage. it also triggered a tsunami that has swept away buildings, trucks, cars and ships. the video is pretty remarkable. an unknown number of injuries are being reported, and power is disrupted to millions. so let's take you live to the scene by phone. cbs radio correspondent lucy craft joins us. lucy, give us an indication of what is happening there right now in tokyo. >> well, the last i checked, which was a few minutes ago, we had reports of 16 deaths, 11 injuries, and undoubtedly that figure will climb quite substantially. but so far the reports of death and injury are quite spotty. it's very difficult to get a sense of what's happening. we've had reports of fires, of houses and buildings collapsing. but it's really hard to get a handle on how extensive the damage is so far. >> we are seeing remarkable video. not only of the damage by the tsunami but the fires that you talk about, and the buildings that have just been, many of them, demolished. but where would you say the

worst damage is? >> well, of course, the older the building is, if it was, you know, built more than 20, 30 years ago, then it's going to be very vulnerable to earthquakes. the ones that are in tokyo, by and large, are, you know, heavily reinforced using the latest earthquake-proof technology. so those are the safest. but as you get outside the city center, old-fashioned, wooden houses close to the epicenter, these are the ones that are really vulnerable. also structures that are close to areas prone to landslides, mudslides. these are the kinds of areas that are most dangerous. >> aftershocks continue, and we're following that. one other thing i want to ask you about is the nuclear power facilities. we understand there's been some concern about damage at one of japan's nuclear power facilities. >> yeah. these are supposed to be shut down, or shut down automatically. so, that's how the government was able to sell nuclear power to the japanese public. one can only hope that the systems are working as they are supposed to. >> all right.

lucy craft, cbs radio correspondent joining us by phone from tokyo. be safe, and we do appreciate that live report. of course, we'll continue to follow this story on "the early show." full coverage of the earthquake disaster in japan. i'm betty nguyen. this is the "cbs morning news." of activia. e there you go. strawberry and vanilla. thank you. that's good. wow. this is really good. great flavor. it's really creamy. it's really tasty. oh, wow! jamie lee curtis! it's activia! it's delicious. really? were you surprised that that's activia yogurt? i am shocked. i thought it would have like a little bit of an aftertaste. it's really yummy. it's delicious. it's hard to believe it's that good for you. it's so good. try the fabulous taste of activia today. taste it, love it, or it's free. ♪ activia

in health new study compares people who are apple shaped, carrying fat around their waist, with pear-shaped people who carry fat around their hips. a previous study said apple shaped people had three times the risk of heart attack or stroke. but a new study says excess weight is equally dangerous for both shapes. in other health news, an effort to protect student athletes. last week two high school stud s every whi lls us about a california woman who is working to make sure that does not happen again. >> reporter: holly mirrell once rode horses professionally. >> back in the days.

>> reporter: but she gave it up after simple tests, an ekg and echo cardiogram, revealed her heart was likely to stop, go into sudden cardiac arrest, under stress. the same condition took the life of her father. >> he was a brave and courageous man. >> reporter: two cousins, just 12 and 14. six family members in all. she turned her anguish into action. >> gave up my career in equestrian show jumping to devote my energy and focus to saving lives. >> reporter: by founding heartfelt. based in orange county and staffed with volunteers, her nonprofit offers $1500 cardiac screenings for free, or, if you're able, a nominal $85 donation. >> the screening is looking for conditions that can predispose to sudden death. >> reporter: like irregular beats or enlarged hearts. they've given 10,000 free screenings to young athletes. about 1,000 have been sent on for further testing due to questionable results. 12-year-old snowboarder wyatt

cloudacher's mother made him come. >> she saw those kids die on tv, and she said she didn't want that to happen to me. >> reporter: holly mirrell wants everyone, especially young athletes, to be screened. but an israeli study this week reports that 12 years of mandatory screening did not reduce the incidence of sudden death. >> i wish that screenings were mandatory. >> reporter: the myers family lost 14-year-old megan when her heart stopped as she ran cross country. >> a lot of times, the first sign that you have something wrong is the last sign. because you die. >> if it's your child, i don't think anyone would care what the statistics are, if it saves your child's life, it's priceless. >> reporter: when holly mirrell learned of her condition, she had a tiny defibrillator implanted to keep her heart beating. now she's on a mission that truly is heartfelt. bill whitaker, cbs news, laguna beach, california. coming up a little bit later on "the early show," live reports from japan on the earthquake, and tsunami disasters overnight.

also an update on the flooding problems here in the east, as relentless rain forces rivers to overflow. and the latest on the charlie sheen saga. after police pay a visit to his home overnight. that's the "cbs morning news" for this friday. your realtime captioner is linda marie macdonald. well, the destruction is unbelievable. japan is reeling from a magnitude 8.9 earthquake that unleashed this 13-foot tsunami. and this morning, the entire west coast including here in the bay area is under a tsunami warning. good morning, it is friday, march 11, 2011. i'm elizabeth wenger. >> good morning, everybody. i'm frank mallicoat. the time is 4:30. and we begin with that breaking news. parts of the bay area right now have just been ordered to evacuate. people in the linda mar area,

pacifica, are being told to leave immediately. >> that's right. el granada and low-lying areas west of highway 1 we are just being told are also being evacuated. evacuation shelters are being set up at nearby schools. forecasters expect a wave of at least a couple feet high to hit the bay area coastline just after 8:00 this morning. let's go right to lawrence karnow who has some of the specifics. >> we have to be prepared for this. we have a tsunami warning that is stretching really all the way from the north down to point conception. the arrival time expected for these waves running at 7:23 in crescent city so it will hit them first. the golden gate 8:08 we're expecting the tsunami to arrive and in santa barbara, 9:51. a lot has to do with the actual floor of the sea bed right below where the waters are coming onshore at the coast. we are watching very closely in place like linda mar. there is a berm.